What Could Destroy Rangers' Cup Dream?

Playoff Success Likely Tied to Decisions at Trade Deadline

By

Mike Sielski

February 15, 2012

This is how well things are going for the Rangers lately: one of their players can break out of a scoring slump merely by talking about breaking out of a scoring slump. After practice one day last week, Rangers captain Ryan Callahan was asked about what is regarded as the team's greatest weakness—its relative lack of offense. The Devils had shut out the Rangers the night before, the 11th time in 12 games New York had been held to three goals or fewer, and Callahan had gone four consecutive games without a goal.

ENLARGE

Forward Ryan Callahan has scored five goals in three games after going scoreless in the previous four.
Getty Images

"We have to do better at it, obviously," he said, "but I think the way we're playing right now, the style of game we're playing, it's working. The goals are going to come. Some guys aren't putting them in like they normally do, myself included."

The Rangers proceeded to score 15 goals over their next four games, all victories, and Callahan himself scored six. So the captain shall say it, and so it shall be done. In fact, after beating Boston on Tuesday, the Rangers were in first place in the Eastern Conference—nine points ahead of the Bruins, the defending Stanley Cup champions—collecting wins with such regularity that they have raised the question of what, if anything, could keep them from advancing to the Cup Finals for the first time since 1994.

The first potential obstacle is obvious. The team's recent gush of goals may not have erased the organization's concern that it will struggle to score once the postseason begins. Former NHL coach and executive Pierre McGuire, who now analyzes the league for NBC Sports and the NBC Sports Network, said that "in a perfect world, the Rangers would add a bona fide game-breaker" to a team that entering Tuesday ranked 11th in the NHL in goals per game. In recent interviews, McGuire and other league insiders have mentioned several players who might be available before the Feb. 27 trading deadline and who could improve the Rangers' offense, among them Columbus's Rick Nash and Jeff Carter, and Phoenix's Ray Whitney. (A team spokesman said in an email that the Rangers "don't comment on rumors/speculation.")

Conversely, there's an inherent risk that general manager Glen Sather will be taking if he does acquire such a player. A trade might disrupt the cohesion that has developed among the players over the season's first 54 games. "Only if it's a guy who's maybe a bad egg," said Rangers forward Mike Rupp, who has played for five teams in his nine-year career and won a Stanley Cup with the Devils in 2003. "I think if teams do research before they bring guys in, they find out how they are in the locker room. I don't really think that would be an issue."

In the always-unpredictable NHL postseason, though, even a minimal flaw can cost a team a chance at the Stanley Cup. Since the 1994 playoffs, when the league adopted its current postseason format of seeding the top eight teams in each conference, eighth-seeded teams have won 26.5% of their series against No. 1 seeds. As it is, then, assuming the Rangers maintain their lead in the Eastern Conference, their advancing to the playoffs' second round is no sure thing—and would seem even a bit dicier this year. Based on the standings as of Tuesday, the Rangers' first-round opponent is likely to be one of four teams—the Devils, the Washington Capitals, the Ottawa Senators or the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 12 games against that quartet, New York has lost seven times.

McGuire said that of those four prospective playoff opponents, Toronto should most concern the Rangers because the Leafs have "a smash-mouth component and high-end speed." The Rangers lead the NHL in hits and can suffocate teams with their close-checking system, but Toronto might be the perfect foil for them. The Leafs can match New York's physical style of play, and they feature a stable of fast forwards, including Phil Kessel, who's one of just three players to reach the 30-goal mark already this season.

"In Toronto, when you've got a guy like Kessel who can sort of get hot, like a guy in the batting order can get hot, that's always something that can be a plus," said Gord Stellick, formerly the general manager of the Leafs and an executive with the Rangers. "I'd say the Rangers struggle that way."

Come Feb. 27, everyone will find out if the Rangers would say it, too.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.